Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10321/3940
Title: Assessing the effectiveness of housing reconstruction and rehabilitation measures for disaster affected communities in KZN (uThukela District Municipality)
Authors: Phungula, Kwethemba Innocent 
Keywords: Disaster management;Human settlements & post-disaster;Post-disaster housing;Housing rehabilitation and reconstruction
Issue Date: 2021
Abstract: 
South Africa is experiencing the realities of climate change with the increasing intensity of
disasters causing devastating impact to infrastructure, houses, roads and schools. Post disaster housing rehabilitation and reconstruction is one of the most challenging tasks confronting decision makers and disaster management practitioners in disaster affected areas
and remains an under studied area. This triggered the interest of the researcher to understand
the impact of the phenomenon and how communities recover from disasters. The purpose of
the study was to assess the effectiveness of housing reconstruction and rehabilitation
measures for disaster affected communities in KZN. The location of the study was Tholeni
area in Alfred Duma Local Municipality, within uThukela District Municipality, because this
area is highly vulnerable to natural hazards.
This study used the philosophical worldview of pragmatism; a mixed research approach to
solicit views, experiences and perspectives of affected communities, Disaster Management
Practitioners and officials from Department of Human Settlements was used. Data was
obtained through questionnaires and interviews. In order to achieve this, purposive sampling
method was used as it helped to purposely select disaster management practitioners and
officials from the Department of Human Settlements who could provide sufficient data for the
purposes of completing the study. Descriptive statistical and content analysis was conducted
from the analysis of emergent data. The qualitative results were triangulated to further test
validity of empirical results. Data collected was computed by means of excel spread sheets
and results were presented in the form of bar graphs, tables with descriptive analysis.
The findings of the study showed that the affected communities were not satisfied with
housing assistance post-disaster incidents. The findings sited that assistance takes longer and
in some instance does not reach all affected communities. The other finding from affected
communities was that government does not provide feedback to give an update of post disaster interventions. Findings from disaster management practitioners highlighted capacity
constraints, poor planning, inadequate budget, and lack of close monitoring, which have a
direct effect on delivery of houses post-disaster incidents. Findings from officials from the
Department of Human Settlements sited long processes of verification of damages by National
Disaster Management Centre and delays with approvals of disaster funding allocation by
National Treasury which affects effective delivery of post-disaster housing. The other finding
was the issue of inadequate internal budget and low level of preparedness by the Department
of Human Settlements. The shortcomings were evident, including the existence of plans and
policies exclusive of post-disaster housing information and linked to poor monitoring and
coordination of projects by the Department of Human Settlements.
The study proposed a guiding framework for post-disaster housing rehabilitation and
reconstruction and also offered a number of recommendations that can assist the Department
of Human Settlements and Municipalities to enhance disaster response and recovery. This
includes recommendations to develop or review post-disaster housing policy in order to
address some of the challenges which emerged from the study. The Department of Human
Settlements, working with municipalities, should prioritise the land tenure security for affected
communities in order to fast track post-disaster housing interventions.
Description: 
A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement of the Degree of Master of Management Sciences: Public Administration specialising in Disaster Management In the Faculty of Management Sciences at the Durban University of Technology, 2021.
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10321/3940
DOI: https://doi.org/10.51415/10321/3940
Appears in Collections:Theses and dissertations (Management Sciences)

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